(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a height setting gauge used in setting the height of a cutting blade mounted in a rotary cutting cylinder. In particular, the present invention pertains to a gauge used in setting the height of a cutting blade mounted in a rotary cutting cylinder of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,250.
(2) Description of the related art
Many tools and gauges have been employed in the past in setting the height of cutting blades mounted in rotary cylinders. Many of these known height setting tools are disadvantaged in that they require that the rotary cylinder first be completely disassembled from the cutting machine prior to setting the height of the cutting blade in the cylinder. The necessity of removing the rotary cylinder from the machine prior to setting the blade height adds significantly to the time required for maintenance of the machine, and increases the down time of the machine during which it is not productive.
Many height setting tools have been developed that set the blade height of a rotary cutting cylinder without removing the cylinder from the cutting machine. Often these tools or gauges comprise complicated and elaborate assemblies that engage both the cutting edge of the blade and a second edge of the blade opposite to the cutting edge in order that they may adjust the position of the blade into a out of the blade receiving slot of the rotary cutting cylinder. The increased number of component parts of such height setting tools requires an increased amount of time in connecting the tool to the blade, and in operating the tool to correctly position the blade relative to the rotary cutting cylinder. These types of tools are further disadvantaged in that their increased number of component parts increases the cost of producing the tool.
The present invention overcomes disadvantages associated with prior art cutting blade height setting tools by providing a blade height setting gauge for adjusting the height of a blade in a rotary cutting cylinder that is comprised of a minimum number of component parts, and is consequently inexpensive to manufacture and simple to use. The blade height setting gauge of the invention is also designed to be used on a rotary cutting cylinder without removing the cylinder from the cutting machine, thereby substantially reducing the time required to adjust the blade height of the rotary cutting cylinder, and in turn reducing the unproductive down time of the machine. The blade height setting gauge of the invention is further advantaged in that its simplified construction lends to its ease of operation in connecting the gauge to the rotary cutting cylinder, setting the blade height of the cylinder, and removing the gauge from the adjusted cylinder.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a blade height setting gauge used in setting the height of a rotary cutting cylinder of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,250, where the gauge is inexpensive to manufacture, is easy to use, provides fast and accurate blade height adjustment, and can be used on a rotary cutting cylinder without removing the cylinder from the cutting machine.